Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Pentecost +6
Colossians 1:15-28
Luke 10:38-42
Call to Worship (inspired by Psalm 52)
One: We come together to praise the steadfast love of God!
Many: Gathered, we lift our hearts in thanksgiving,
One: for look! See what God has done!
Many: When we look with loving eyes, we see God’s good works.
One: So, remembering all that God is accomplishing,
Many: we proclaim “God’s work is a blessing, and God’s name is GOOD!”
All: Let’s lift our voices to praise God.
Opening Prayer
Holy God, we’ve come together in person and on-line to tune our hearts and
focus our minds on you. Help us set aside the anxieties and fears which tempt us to dwell in their midst.
Draw us close to you even as your Spirit links us to one another.
Inspire us to take refuge in you as we sing, pray, and feast at Christ’s table.
We give you our thanks even as we call on Jesus to walk with us,
AMEN
Moment for Stewardship (from Luke 10:38-42)
The familiar story of Jesus’ visit to Martha and Mary opens the door today to considering what is the better part we, ourselves, bring to offer Jesus.
Martha, identified as the home-owner, welcomed Jesus into her home. We imagine her clearing a space for company, cooking, setting the table. She was “distracted by her many tasks”.
Mary, sister of Martha, sat at Jesus’ feet to listen.
What the scripture doesn’t say out loud is that sitting at the feet of their teacher is the expected action of a disciple.
While hospitality and providing food is necessary (both then and now), when Martha asked Jesus to send Mary to the kitchen, Jesus clarified: “Mary has chosen the better part.”
Where do you find yourself in this story? What is “the better part” for you to offer today? Let’s take a moment to focus and set aside our many tasks, to claim our prime identity as disciples.
Take a breath!
Disciples, we dare not be so distracted that we miss “the better part”!
With our giving and with our living, let us demonstrate our identity as disciples of Jesus, whom we claim as “the Christ.”
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Loving God, you have given us life and called us to new life as disciples of Jesus Christ. In gratitude and thanksgiving, we offer back to you our lives, symbolized in these gifts of coin and check. Help us continue to offer “the better part” not only today but each day of our lives. AMEN
Invitation to Communion
The description of Jesus’ visit to Martha’s home brings many of us to a place of emotional conflict. We understand Martha’s desire to provide for Jesus,
and many of us can tune right in to Martha’s frustration — too many details, too many tasks, too much responsibility and NO help from her own sister!
And yet, when we come to this table, we recognize the description of the appropriate action of Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus. That’s the place and the attitude of a disciple! Isn’t that what we most want, to be a follower of Jesus?
Whether the bread has been cut in even pieces, or the juice is poured out in equal measure for each person is not the point!
So today, let’s work so we are not so distracted, frustrated or over-extended. Let’s recognize we’re invited to this table as followers of Jesus. Our work is to focus on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of the One we claim as Lord of our life.
With this bread
(cracker/matzo…use the word to describe what is at your table)
we remember the real life of Jesus.
We remember he offered his life as a sign of God’s love for all humankind.
We remember at that last supper in an upper room
he offered the bread as a sign of his own body,
and the cup as a symbol of his own blood.
So, remembering, we place our own lives in direct connection to Jesus’ life
as we eat, drink, and claim “the better part.”